The present invention relates to methods and products for treating wounds and skin conditions and for stimulating hair growth.
Honey has been shown to have considerable wound and ulcer healing capacity and strong antimicrobial activity. Recognizing those utilities, members of the medical profession have engaged in treatment protocols involving the local application of honey. Wounds and ulcers which were unresponsive to conventional treatments have, when treated with honey, become sterile within one week. In 1980 it was reported that necrotic malignant breast ulcers were effectively treated with honey. Wounds disrupted after caesarean sections have been shown to heal after application of a thin layer of honey without the need for resuturing. Open wounds, infected wounds, e.g., vulvectomy, infected perineum and infected abdominal wall wounds healed faster when treated with honey than when treated conventionally. Healing processes are generally not hindered by the presence of microorganisms in the honey or in the infected wounds or ulcers. Even when wounds are challenged with high inocula of infectious bacteria, honey remains superior to conventional wound healing medications, with the honey-treated wounds exhibiting less neutrophil infiltration and marked proliferation of angioblasts and fibroblasts. Honey dressings have also proven superior in the treatment of superficial wounds and burns, with patients experiencing increased wound sterilization, earlier healing, more pain relief and less irritation without allergies and other side effects often experienced during conventional healing processes. Honey also appears to promote rapid wound debridement, replacement of sloughs with granulation tissue and rapid epithelialization and absorption of oedema from around the margins.
Honey has great potential for use as a medicinal antimicrobial. That potential has been demonstrated by the tremendous amount of research in that area. Honey exhibits pronounced microbial activity against most pathogenic bacteria and fungi regardless of their susceptibility or resistance to different antibiotics. The antimicrobial activity of honey was attributed to its high sugar osmolarity and low acidity, but honey has been shown to have stronger antimicrobial activity than corresponding sugar concentrations with similar pHs. The antimicrobial activity has also been attributed to the enzymatically liberated hydrogen peroxide activity known as inhibine. It should be noted, however, that some types of honey, such as manuka honey, exhibit marked antibacterial activity in the absence of peroxide activity. Manuka honey is currently being marketed in New Zealand as an antibacterial product.
Honey has revealed moderate antitumor and pronounced metastatic effects when tested in rats; the antitumor activity of 5-fluorouracil and cyclophosphamide is potentiated by honey. Scientific literature has also suggested honey applications for treating cardiovascular diseases, cataracts and bronchial asthma and for preserving graft tissues. Further, honey has proven effective in treating cold sores and herpes simplex on the lips, skin allergies and insect bites.
While honey has proven effective as a treatment, topical application of honey is inconvenient. The stickiness, thinning and liquefaction accompanying existing honey applications are major restrictions to their topical application. Thinning and liquefaction of existing preparations increases honey mobility, resulting in poor dosing. That mobility exacerbates the stickiness problem, as the treatment inevitably drips and spreads to other areas, including clothes. When existing honey applications are applied to exposed tissues such as open wounds or eyes, intense irritation results from the high osmolarity of honey. Needs exist for honey-based treatments having physical characteristics conducive to topical application.